Survey: 87 Percent of Pastors Reject Pulpit Endorsements

Survey: 87 Percent of Pastors Reject Pulpit Endorsements

According to a survey by LifeWay Research, 87 percent of pastors believe they should not endorse candidates for public office from the pulpit, Baptist Press reports. The poll of 1,000 Protestant pastors found that only 10 percent believe pastors should endorse candidates from the pulpit, while 3 percent are not sure. It also revealed that 44 percent of pastors personally endorsed candidates, but did so outside their church role. Slight differences emerged between pastors who consider themselves "evangelical" and those who self-identify as "mainline": 86 percent of evangelical pastors believe pastors should not endorse a candidate from the pulpit, compared to 91 percent of mainline pastors. Additionally, among pastors who call themselves Democrats, 98 percent believe endorsements should not be made from the pulpit, compared to 90 percent of independents and 82 percent of Republicans.